In the 2009 stimulus package, the Obama administration and the U.S. Congress earmarked $70bn for development of renewable and efficient energy technologies and manufacturing. The European Union has set targets for reducing emissions to 20 percent of 1990 levels by 2020. And in a September 2009 address to the United Nations, Chinese President Hu Jintao said his country would generate 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources within a decade. In part because of the urgency expressed by government, venture capital money is pouring into renewable energy projects. In 2008, as much as $4.1bn in seed money was contributed by private investors to 277 so-called clean-tech start-ups, which was 52 percent more than the year before, according to data from the National Venture Capital Association, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Thomson Reuters. Employees are also encouraging their companies to formulate and pursue sustainability campaigns. In a 2008 National Geographic survey, more than 80 percent of U.S. workers polled agreed that it was important to work for a company or organization that makes the environment a top priority.

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